Content management system and method for DRM enforcement in a client-server system

Abstract

A system and method for protecting the rights and DRM technology of a content owner while increasing the convenience for users in a networked environment, e.g., a home network. By redirecting relevant DRM installation requests (e.g., for protected music, video, books, software, etc.) from a user's client device to his home server, and then acting upon authenticated client requests for the installed content strictly via the server, the user gains the convenience of limited client independence while the content owners retain assurance that their content will not be illicitly used by or redistributed to unauthorized users.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application 60 / 726,547 filed 14 Oct. 2005.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates to a system and method for managing protected content in a network system including at least one server and a plurality of client devices. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] The Internet enables the legal distribution of various forms of digital content but also makes illegal distribution of such content quite possible. “Digital rights management” (DRM) refers to a set of evolving technologies which share the goal of protecting content owners from electronic violations of their rights. DRM technology is intended to impose restrictions on the uses of digital content which match the restrictions required by a content owner and agreed to by a licensed user. One common approach is to encrypt the digital content using some variety of a “system fingerprint” as part of an encryption key. If the DRM-protected conten...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010] More particularly, a system in accordance with the invention allows a client device to initiate the purchase of a protected media file, but once this is done, the downloading of the protected file is redirected, under software control, to a central media server. The media server then does the checking of the file, the checking for a license, the acquisition, validation, and storage of the license information, etc. The media server functions to manage all of the media file downloads sending all purchased media files to the media server and not to the client device. The server is then free to decode the media for digital streaming or analog output to various devices on the network. By design, this operating mode will prevent the creation of unprotected copies of the protected content but will allow a user to play the content on various client devices.

[0012] The DRM enhancements to home based systems described herein facilitate a user purchasing protected content from a greater variety of different content sources. Moreover, because embodiments of the invention do not rely on any brand specific DRM technology, systems in accordance with the invention are able to manage content protected by any known type of DRM.

Problems solved by technology

The Internet enables the legal distribution of various forms of digital content but also makes illegal distribution of such content quite possible.

If the DRM-protected content is moved to or accessed from another computer—even if the license information (whether stored separately as a file or registry entries, or embedded in the content) is moved along with it—the file is generally not decryptable and so is unusable.

There are numerous variations on this DRM theme which can, for example, limit the quantity of systems that are granted such licenses, adding further restrictions such as limiting playback quantity, abbreviation, or quality or limiting the chronological duration of the content's availability.

Such use restrictions are very reassuring for content owners, but are generally quite inconvenient for users.

A user's fair use of the protected content is, as a mutually unwanted byproduct, often technologically restricted in unintended ways which seriously inhibit users without benefiting content owners.

It either cannot be played on another computer or even if it can, such playback will decrement the count of available allowed playback devices.

Such simplistic rigidity protects the music from illegal redistribution via technical means but, unfortunately, also is likely to inhibit a purchase in the first place.

A related inconvenience for users comes when applying DRM technology to a multi-zone home based system which may include multiple client devices and a central content, or media, server.

In typical multi-zone systems, if a given media file is protected by DRM, it simply cannot be listened to in any room / zone in the house, not because the license holder finds this rebarbative, but because it is not easy to make it work since the media file is locked to play on a limited number of client devices—possibly just one—and because a proprietary player is generally required to process the DRM technology.

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